Assessing racialized poverty: the case of impoverished Roma people in the European Union

Margareta Matache and Simona Barbu

Chapter 12 in Research Handbook on Human Rights and Poverty, 2026, pp 203-223 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Even though the European Union (EU) has the second-largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world, many individuals and families – particularly from marginalized groups – continue to experience poverty. Roma people, a historically racialized and oppressed population, rank amongst the most impoverished, discriminated against, and excluded populations. On average, 80 percent of Roma people live below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, starkly contrasting with an average of 17 percent among the in-power groups in each respective country. While income poverty captures only one dimension of Roma poverty, it still signals deep-seated injustice and inequities. This chapter uses a structural framework to examine Roma poverty. We argue that research, as well as policies, should prioritize measuring and studying racism and racialization, including residential (or neighborhood) segregation, and the wealth gap as key determinants of racialized poverty.

Keywords: Roma; Racialized poverty; Anti-Romani racism; Structural racism; Reparations; Reparatory justice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035350506
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